"The American Anti-Revolution"

Last spring, University of Hartford historian Robert Churchill released a new book about "libertarian political violence and the origins of the militia movement," To Shake Their Guns in the Tyrant’s Face (University of Michigan Press). He should have waited a year. This past week the book's subject matter came roaring back to the forefront of American politics, as politicians and their friends in the media policed the acceptable limits of dissent in a democratic republic.

Notably, this week also marked the April 19th anniversary of both the government crime — the assault on Waco — that most inspired the rise of the 1990s militia movement that Churchill's book explains and contextualizes, and the private crime—the destruction of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City—that sapped all the momentum from that movement.

Churchill’s book provides interesting historical context for both the 1990s and now. The same forces of expansive government that first helped inspire a militia movement and later generated hostility towards that movement are again actively casting suspicious eyes on anyone who says that the modern U.S. government is in any respect tyrannical or clearly overstepping its intended constitutional bounds.

Churchill, as a historian, could see the ‘90s militia phenomenon in context—and that context was uniquely American. The notion of armed resistance to tyranny that the '90s militias came to embody was not marginal, alien, or frightening; it is one of America’s defining original attributes. This is a nation, after all, born of a civic armed insurrection, one that had the support of a substantial body of the people.

As Churchill puts it, “as a historian of early America I found achingly familiar [the ‘90s militias’] assertion of a right to take up arms to prevent the exercise of unconstitutional power by the federal government.” That's because the spirit of the colonial revolution was kept alive and used as ideological support for violent action and rhetoric at various points in our history. Churchill tells these stories with gripping detail and he neither cheers nor vilifies those who chose to take up arms at various points and for various reasons against constituted authority in America.

Like the Oath Keepers, a militia-style coalition of current and former military, police, and other public officials recently profiled by Reason’s Jesse Walker, America's original Federalists (who favored a powerful central state) were convinced that the militia would be the final bulwark of American liberty by refusing to allow the enforcement of unconstitutional law. Indeed, that idea of an armed citizen militia resisting the depredations of the state has been a mainstream idea in American history from the very start.

Churchill doesn't claim that armed insurrectionary violence was ever popular or mainstream as an active cause, however. The three stories he tells that occurred before the 1990s—Fries rebellion of 1798-99, the Sons of Liberty conspiracy in Indiana and Illinois of 1864, and the anti-Roosevelt (and anti-Semitic) Black Legion of 1936—are instead examples of a small minority acting against the general attitudes of their respective times.

In tracing the shifting attitudes toward insurrectionary violence from the American Revolution to the ‘90s militia scare, Churchill will strike a chord with readers who are elegiac for America's original libertarian purpose, those who feel the loss of a citizenry that was once genuinely passionate about civic liberty and limited government. As Churchill puts it, in the steps from the Civil War to the New Deal to now, American civic life and politics became about “the principles of necessity, loyalty, and national preservation” that had displaced “the libertarian ideals of the American Revolution.”

A libertarian polity need not resort to violence to defend its liberties. It is always better for everyone if it does not have to. Thomas Jefferson had enough faith in the inherent peaceful, civic libertarianism of his people that he believed that armed insurrection would not be accepted in America, but nor would it be necessary. As Churchill quotes from a February 1798 letter by Jefferson, forceful opposition to government action “is not the kind of opposition the American people will permit. But keep away from all show of force, and they will bear down the evil propensities of the government, by the constitutional means of election and petition.”

From a Jeffersonian perspective about the nature, powers, and extent of government, Americans in the last century have utterly failed to live up to Jefferson's expectations. But even pointing that out now is enough to get you lumped in with the very violent forces Jefferson believed Americans would rightly abjure.

See, for example, former president Bill Clinton in The New York Times, who directly links an idea that is unequivocally true—“the belief that the greatest threat to American freedom is our government, and that public servants do not protect our freedoms, but abuse them”—with convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh’s 1994 crimes.

Similarly, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, current intellectual heroine of left-liberal “tough common sense,” took a much-noted stroll this week through the mind of McVeigh via old jailhouse interviews. And that’s of special news relevance today, Maddow says, because “nine years after his execution, we are left worrying that Timothy McVeigh's voice from the grave echoes in the new rising tide of American anti-government extremism.”

Why are we left worrying about that? Not because any such violence has occurred or has been convincingly threatened by modern “anti-government extremists,” but because people like Maddow keep telling us we should be worried. Howard Kurtz in The Washington Post sums up the current state of the fear, while taking an on-the-one-hand-on-the-other-hand approach to this week’s nostalgic debate between Clinton and his old nemesis Rush Limbaugh over whether right-wing rhetoric or government murders are more to blame for McVeigh’s crimes.

“The 42nd president is out there saying that the current climate reminds him of the period before the Oklahoma bombing,” Kurtz writes. “Limbaugh is accusing him (and Barack Obama) of libeling radio talk-show hosts. And the debate has broadened to include Sarah Palin and her ‘reload’ rhetoric, as well as the Tea Party.”

Kurtz is correct: Fear of the ‘90s radical right is back like it never left. Even the Southern Poverty Law Center (whose role in selling an inaccurate, race-based vision of what inspired the ‘90s militias is explained by Churchill) has issued a fresh enemies list of vaguely dangerous right-wingers. Mainstream-as-you-get political pundit Joe Klein is tarring nonviolent political critics of Obama, such as Rep. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and Fox News superstar Glenn Beck, as being guilty of sedition.

It’s all part of what Jesse Walker aptly identified back in June 2009 as a “brown scare” characterized by overblown fears of “far right” violence. As Walker notes, by failing to check the idea that strong rhetorical opposition to government growth is comparable to McVeigh's bloody deeds, we're “mak[ing] it easier to smear nonviolent, noncriminal figures on the right, just as the most substantial effect of a red scare was to make it easier to smear nonviolent, noncriminal figures on the left.”

In his detailed writing on this topic, Walker has accurately fingered what are probably, in terms of their danger to human life and liberty, the most dangerous paranoids on the American scene: the “paranoid center,” those who always ensure that, Walker writes, the “list of dangerous forces that need to be marginalized inevitably expands to include peaceful, legitimate critics."

Sam Tanenhaus, in The New York Times this week, revisits a decade-old idea of the “radical center” which allegedly will rise to reclaim American politics back from the “extremists” of both parties—an idea that ignores the fact that trends in foreign policy, civil rights, and government spending have been pretty much the same no matter what party runs the executive or legislature branches. Though Tanenhaus explores the idea at some length, he doesn’t really explain a detailed set of ideas or a guiding philosophy of governance behind this “radical center,” which thus comes across as nothing less than a tenacious and militant defender of a juiceless and destructive status quo.

This is exactly why there are those other radicals, the ones not of the middle: the middle way has led us to an untenable, unhappy, unsustainable method of governing and a nation facing imperial exhaustion and a promise-driven bankruptcy. The things the ‘90s militias feared — militarization of police, expansion of the surveillance state, violent enforcement of victimless crime laws, expansion of the federal government beyond any recognizable constitutional limits—have continued apace. 9/11, as Churchill notes, created a temporary re-establishment of a pure 100 percent unquestioning Americanism even among the types attracted to militias—though thankfully that spell has faded.

Churchill writes perspicuously of how modern liberal pluralism uses “a combination of cultural authority, exclusionary rhetoric, and influence within mass media institutions to contain the ideas, personalities, and organizations of the Far Left and Far Right and wall them off from the public sphere.” What the likes of Clinton, Klein, and Maddow realize, to their great chagrin, is that that power is faltering in the age of the Internet, with the cable news networks aiming for smaller targeted ideological audiences. This makes them so angry they feel it necessary to conflate or link their ideological enemies with mass murderers.

feel the least bit of responsibility for acts of anti-government violence, past or future, even when they’re committed in the name of one or more ideas I might otherwise endorse.

Because fundamentally and categorically, I repudiate the use of force and violence to impose my beliefs, political philosophy, or policy preferences on other people. Until you can say the same thing, Mr. Former President (and we both know you can’t), you can spare me your goddamned lecture.

Balko’s conclusion damns both the modern state and its political and commentariat defenders who are sweating at the thought that unwashed masses, some of them armed, seem miffed at outrageous expansions of government power.

Churchill’s book — as well as any serious study of the grievances and reactions of proto-Americans in the Revolutionary Era — make it clear that a spirit of some value has been more or less beaten out of the American people, both by ideology and by force. Indeed, it was not unknown in late 18th and early 19th century America for citizens to rise up and firmly discourage certain victimless crime laws from being enforced.

An America where, as Churchill writes, “the libertarian memory of the American revolution was transformed from a mainstream creed to a badge of extremism” and in which “unquestioning loyalty and obedience to the nation state” has become standard may be more conducive to domestic peace and order—at least in a tautological sense. But that transformation also enables a destructive set of policies, both overseas and domestically, that are more damaging to the property and liberty of Americans than any militia member or Tea Partier, however angry or irrational, will ever be.

Senior Editor Brian Doherty is author of This is Burning Man (BenBella), Radicals for Capitalism (PublicAffairs), and Gun Control on Trial (Cato Institute).

I especially like the phrase "...ignores the fact that trends in foreign policy, civil rights, and government spending have been pretty much the same no matter what party runs the executive or legislature branches."

"Like the Oath Keepers, a militia-style coalition of current and former military, police, and other public officials..."

The BOD over at OK'ers are not going to take to kindly to that. Undoubtedly, they will be falling all over themselves to nip this unjustified rumor and claim that the author of this article is a agent provocateur.

Slick Willy still won´t admit to Waco, No surprise. He doesn't realize or admit that anyone with a half cup of sense knows that Waco was nothing more than a Publicity Stunt gone Terribly Wrong by Him, and Janet Reno and the rest of the A.T.F. Upper Echelon. That people KNOW!!! They think we are STUPID!!!That all they wanted to do was show the Federal Authorities taking down a Big Bad Militia that was,1.stockpiling weapons.2.selling drugs to finance all these guns.3.where sexually abusing women and children.4.that these Branch Davidians and Anyone like them where nothing more than nut jobs.and that the Government needed to Protect the American Public from the ¨Nut Job Militias¨ Never mind that none of these accusations were true. But when their plans went to hell in a hand basket it became one of the Biggest Federal Cover-ups in Modern History and they Still won´t admit to it or let the Truth come out at least while they are still alive because they would be exposed for the CRIMINALS that they are. And now they are starting up the Propaganda Machine again. Making Watch lists that include 3%, Oath Keepers, Tea Party Patriots, Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, Sarah Palin, and Everyone else who does not agree with ¨Their Vision¨ of what ¨America Should Be¨. And never understanding that Their Vision is what America is NOT. That America was MADE by Men and Women that took responsibility for their own lives, used their own abilities and ingenuity and did for themselves and helped their neighbors.And these same people DID NOT WANT ANTONE ELSE telling them how or what or when to do ANYTHING! That they could and would be their own ruler. And this country did pretty much follow this path up till about the early 1800´s when some people Thought They Knew Better that they had the Right to tell OTHER PEOPLE how to LIVE,WHAT TO BELIVE,and WHAT TO DO and this lead to ¨OUR FIRST CIVIL WAR¨ Well they´r doing it again only this time in the Name of Progress? What Progress all see is Socialism a system that is PROVEN to Failure. And they call me names Racist, Bigot, Hateriot they Label me they watch me and they warn ¨GOOD PEOPLE¨ about me what CRIMES are they planing now besides the ones to Destroy this country. And when do they come and what will they do and what will they accuse me of. Well I Say in the words of our fearless ¨LEADER¨ ¨Bring it On¨ I am Ready for you you will either Kill or Capture me I know, So What that dos´nt mean that you Win. For when My Brothers and Sisters have had enough of You, BIG BROTHER they will be done with You and You will Finally Pay For Your Crimes. And my Death will be Justified or I will be set Free for that is ALL I WANT TO BE FREE! Free from you and others like you. So come on lets see what you got if you dare??? Dennis III

I really try not to get caught up in conspiracy theories and I appreciate keeping one's distance from McVeigh, but there are folks who are in a position to know about the OKC event and who are rational, calm and objective. They are not at all convinced that McVeigh's actions were born solely from a desire for revenge for Waco. They see the fingerprints of the alphabet agencies on that event and wonder if OKC wasn't a false flag. As I understand, that really threw cold water on the resurging militia movement and 9/11 sounded its final death knell because any questioning of the establishment was seen as 'anti-American'.

The United States of Bureaucratic America -- born in 1865-- is coming to it's end. The "middle" people fear is probably an illusion made up of very disparate parts. What we're seeing now is the Awakening. How it will look in 10 years is anyone's guess, I think.

Great post, although I am a dissenter on the alleged "libertarian ideals.". Once you add ism or Arian to Liberty, you've got a different duck. I'm blaspheming, I know!

You are whistling past the cemetary. There is no revolution or confrontation and I hope to god that never happens. What IS happening is a bloodless coup. It is there for all to see. We will lose BECAUSE you see both parties as equally bad. As stupidly as the Republicans acted when they had power they are still the only hope. Hold your nose and vote the dems out and vote out the Rhinos too (Republicans like Lindsey Graham are as bad as Harry Reid).

Nope, I think too many of us are done with that "hold your nose and vote" bullshit. Been doing that for too many decades, not doing it again. If the stupid party can't get (or let) any small .gov people to run for office, so be it. They can join their Dem brothers on the gallows.

Hear hear, no more voting for the lessor of two evils - we cannot afford another drop of evil, America is already a hairline away from being majority evil. The serial Republicrats must go - only statesmen are worthy of my vote.

Voting for the lessor of two evils is still voting for evil. My family is close friends with a family in Germany, and as the older generation passed from the scene, they got open honest - they voted for Hitler because he was the lessor evil than the communists. While recognizing Hitler as evil, they regarded their voting for him has justified in the course of history - Communists have murdered more people than Nazis.

"Progress made under the shadow of the policeman's club is false progress."

I believe that liberty is the only genuinely valuable thing that men have invented, at least in the field of government, in a thousand years. I believe that it is better to be free than to be not free, even when the former is dangerous and the latter safe. I believe that the finest qualities of man can flourish only in free air – that progress made under the shadow of the policeman's club is false progress, and of no permanent value. I believe that any man who takes the liberty of another into his keeping is bound to become a tyrant, and that any man who yields up his liberty, in however slight the measure, is bound to become a slave. -- H.L. Mencken

On the efficacy of passive resistance in the face of the collectivist beast. . .

Had the Japanese got as far as India, Gandhi's theories of "passive resistance" would have floated down the Ganges River with his bayoneted, beheaded carcass. -- Mike Vanderboegh.

In the future . . .

When the histories are written, “National Rifle Association” will be cross-referenced with “Judenrat.” -- Mike Vanderboegh to Sebastian at "Snowflakes in Hell"

"Smash the bloody mirror."

If you find yourself through the looking glass, where the verities of the world you knew and loved no longer apply, there is only one thing to do. Knock the Red Queen on her ass, turn around, and smash the bloody mirror. -- Mike Vanderboegh

From Kurt Hoffman over at Armed and Safe.

"I believe that being despised by the despicable is as good as being admired by the admirable."

From long experience myself, I can only say, "You betcha."

"Only cowards dare cringe."

The fears of man are many. He fears the shadow of death and the closed doors of the future. He is afraid for his friends and for his sons and of the specter of tomorrow. All his life's journey he walks in the lonely corridors of his controlled fears, if he is a man. For only fools will strut, and only cowards dare cringe. -- James Warner Bellah, "Spanish Man's Grave" in Reveille, Curtis Publishing, 1947.

"We fight an enemy that never sleeps."

"As our enemies work bit by bit to deconstruct, we must work bit by bit to REconstruct. Be mindful where we should be. Set goals. We fight an enemy that never sleeps. We must learn to sleep less." -- Mike H. at What McAuliffe Said

"The Fate of Unborn Millions. . ."

"The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their Houses, and Farms, are to be pillaged and destroyed, and they consigned to a State of Wretchedness from which no human efforts will probably deliver them. The fate of unborn Millions will now depend, under God, on the Courage and Conduct of this army-Our cruel and unrelenting Enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance, or the most abject submission; that is all we can expect-We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die." -- George Washington to his troops before the Battle of Long Island.

"We will not go gently . . ."

This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can't be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won't be done. The Founders' Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.

But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.

And when we are gone, the scattered, free survivors hiding in the ruins of our once-great republic will sing of our deeds in forbidden songs, tending the flickering flame of individual liberty until it bursts forth again, as it must, generations later. We will live forever, like the Spartans at Thermopylae, in sacred memory.

-- Mike Vanderboegh, The Lessons of Mumbai:Death Cults, the "Socialism of Imbeciles" and Refusing to Submit, 1 December 2008

"A common language of resistance . . ."

"Colonial rebellions throughout the modern world have been acts of shared political imagination. Unless unhappy people develop the capacity to trust other unhappy people, protest remains a local affair easily silenced by traditional authority. Usually, however, a moment arrives when large numbers of men and women realize for the first time that they enjoy the support of strangers, ordinary people much like themselves who happen to live in distant places and whom under normal circumstances they would never meet. It is an intoxicating discovery. A common language of resistance suddenly opens to those who are most vulnerable to painful retribution the possibility of creating a new community. As the conviction of solidarity grows, parochial issues and aspirations merge imperceptibly with a compelling national agenda which only a short time before may have been the dream of only a few. For many Americans colonists this moment occurred late in the spring of 1774." -- T.H. Breen, The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence, Oxford University Press, 2004, p.1.